LONDON, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- The British government has asked BAE Systems to review the Royal Navy's $7.9 billion aircraft carrier building program, including the option of canceling it.
DefenseNews said the review order was disclosed by BAE Systems' U.K. chief, Ian King, during a meeting of the parliamentary defense committee.
BAE is leading an industry alliance that is building two aircraft carriers, and the first is currently under construction and slated to enter service in 2016.
King told the committee among the options being looked at is "one carrier and no carrier," the report said.
Amid the international economic crisis, Britain plans to cut defense spending by 10 percent to 20 percent over the next four years.
It had planned to use one of the new carriers as a strike carrier and the second as a helicopter carrier. As many as 138 vertical/short-takeoff-and-landing versions of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter were expected to equip the carrier and also bolster the Royal Air Force, but industry executives have said the actual purchase of F-35s could be halved, DefenseNews said.
